Some reflections on contemporary socio-political realities and issues!

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Hit the target, miss the point?

Two-pronged fundamental objectives of campaigning: (1)introducing the candidate to the voters, and (2)convincing the voters to elect the candidate.

And to attain these, there is a variety of tools for political action employed by individuals and organization involved in electoral campaigns. In many instances, lobby, propaganda, boycott, and even violence are effective tools for campaigns.

Unfortunately, there are some who believe that these tools are the fundamental reason for the campaign. Totally forgetting the fact that campaigns are supposed to make candidates known to the voters so that the latter can decide intelligently.

I cringe whenever I see campaigners and partisans going after each other's throat, as if the victory of thier respective candidates is dependent on who prevailed in their bickerings. I am uncomfortable with people so obsessed with the propaganda and packaging while totally ignoring the character and personality of the candidate.

To my mind, a viable check to this situation is the adoption of a credible party system that puts premium on programs and directions instead of personalities and propaganda. If you want to occupy public office, convince the public during the campaign that where you will bring them(through your party programs and directions) is the best option for everyone.

Unless we embark on this very important electoral reforms, our campaigns will continue to miss the point for the entire electoral exercise. And our democracy will continue to be more of the "form", missing the "substance".